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"Old lady" was an ironic term of endearment 40 years ago.

I refer to the lady whose name appears next to mine on our marriage license as Mrs. Casey, because she has a short temper and she can shoot.

- Jim

Venus Pax wrote:Most of us should know our neighbors. I don't think most of us, including Russel, plan to shoot a drunk neighbor that we are fairly certain is harmless.

I don't want to harp on this like a maniac, but you don't know that someone who is drunk or demented is harmless.

One of the sadder stories that I remember from Illinois was an elderly guy who yelled at people who walked on the sidewalk in front of his house. That seems just eccentric. Well, one day he shot and killed a teenage girl who was on his front lawn.

People with Alzheimer's disease can go through a phase where they are paranoid and violent. It's not common, but it happens. They misplace their possessions and accuse others of stealing them. If they have a weapon, they can be dangerous.

The best way to deal with these situations is to plan for them. If someone is that far gone, they should be in a place where they can be cared for appropriately.

- Jim

One of my cousins' husband is a Methodist minister. He lived in a small town in the Midwest that had almost no violent crime. He was also accustomed to troubled parishoners coming to his door at odd hours.

One of his neighbors got drunk to a level that could only be called insane. The man came to the minister's door and proceeded to beat him within an inch of his life with a shovel that was outside the door. The minister is now permanently disabled.

(No one in the home had a weapon, and they are not young or athletic.)

Anyone who is not paralyzed or unconscious can harm you, faster than you know.

(BTW, the criminal managed to get a lawyer to tie the "justice" system in knots for years. My cousin's family moved hundreds of miles away and put the whole thing behind them.)

- Jim

William Pitt wrote:The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the crown. ... but the King of England may not enter -- all his force dares not cross the threshold ...

That's quite a bit better than we have it today.

- Jim